What is the test for a defendant to be convicted under the Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Rodriguez, B280915 (Cal. App. 2019):

"[A]n aider and abettor's liability for criminal conduct is of two kinds. First, an aider and abettor with the necessary mental state is guilty of the intended crime. Second, under the natural and probable consequences doctrine, an aider and abettor is guilty not only of the intended crime, but also 'for any other offense that was a "natural and probable consequence" of the crime aided and abetted.' [Citation.]" (People v. McCoy (2001) 25 Cal.4th 1111, 1117.) To convict a defendant under the natural and probable consequences doctrine, the jury "must find that the defendant, acting with (1) knowledge of the unlawful purpose of the perpetrator; and (2) the intent or purpose of committing, encouraging, or facilitating the commission of a predicate or target offense; (3) by act or advice aided, promoted, encouraged or instigated the commission of the target crime[;] . . . (4) the defendant's confederate committed an offense other than the target crime; and (5) the offense committed by the confederate was a natural and probable consequence of the target crime that

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the defendant aided and abetted." (People v. Prettyman (1996) 14 Cal.4th 248, 262, fn. omitted.) "Liability under the natural and probable consequences doctrine 'is measured by whether a reasonable person in the defendant's position would have or should have known that the charged offense was a reasonable foreseeable consequence of the act aided and abetted.' [Citation.]" (People v. Medina (2009) 46 Cal.4th 913, 920.) "A reasonably foreseeable consequence is to be evaluated under all the factual circumstances of the individual case [citation] and is a factual issue to be resolved by the jury. [Citations.]" (Ibid.)

B. Substantial Evidence Supported Rodriguez's Convictions Under the Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine

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